Continuous flow grain dryer



April 29, 1969 E. L. BATTERTON ET AL CONTINUOUS FLOW GRAIN DRYER Sheet Filed July 13, 1967 1NVEN'TOR5 [4 M0 1. 5,4 fiEzm/v M54 VM/ J [GA/50446 ATTORNEYS April 1969 E. L. BATTERTON ET AL 3,440,734

CONTINUOUS FLOW GRAIN DRYER Filed July 13, 1967 Sheet 3 of 3 INVENTOR5 fur/1o Z fiarraero/v MEL w/v Z a $0, 45

W ,4. ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,440,734 CONTINUOUS FLOW GRAIN DRYER Elmo L. Batterton and Melvin J. Lonsdale, Morton, Ill.,

assignors to Meyer Morton C0,, Morton, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed July 13, 1967, Ser. No. 653,174 Int. Cl. A23] 3/18 US. Cl. 3465 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A grain dryer for removing moisture from shelled corn, milo, wheat, barley, oats, soybeans, and various other grains, the drying being accomplished with hot air flow for contact with the grain from a plenum chamber through perforated walls defining a flow path for the grain, the dryer being substantially of the continuous flow type.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention or discovery relates to a grain dryer of the vertical type, which dryer is portable and may be transported to its destination by way of truck, after construction of the dryer, and then raised to vertical position upon a previously formed foundation, it thereafter being only necessary to connect the grain feeding means, establish the necessary electrical connections, and the like. The grain path within the dryer is defined by concentric and spaced perforated walls, heated air being applied to the plenum chamber inside the inner wall. The walls are made of like sections which by a slight simple variation can be utilized for the making of dryers of various diameters and heights, whereby inventory is materially lessened.

Description of the prior art Heretofore, grain dryers utilizing a plenum chamber into which heated air was admitted and concentric perforated walls surrounding that chamber and defining a path of travel for the grain were developed, but in fabrivarious sizes of dryers, variously sized parts had to be done at the ultimate destination of the dryer, and the installation was substantially a permanent one. Each such dryer was more or less fabricated to order, and for various sizes of dryers, variously sized parts had to be used, thereby necessitating a large inventory. The construction of dryers as heretofore made did not permit transporting of the dryers by truck, especially dryers of relatively large capacity, particularly because of road regulations, and the difliculty in passing beneath bridges, viaducts and similar overhead structures. Many dryers heretofore known resulted frequently in overheating of the grain, owing to the fact that the grain was subject to the same heat from the plenum chamber after most of the moisture therein had been evaporated and dry grain will greatly increase in temperature after most of the moisture had been removed. Also, previously known dryers did not have a satisfactorily smooth path of travel for the grain, resulting in the grain piling up in certain locations, stratification and channeling. This was due mainly to necessary bracing and supporting members extending across the path of travel of the grain. In addition, it may be said that previous dryers were objectionably expensive and not desirably eflicient, especially in regard to dryers of the continuous flow type.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The instant invention overcomes the above noted objections to previously made grain dryers, in the main by virtue of its novel construction. With the instant invention 3,440,734 Patented Apr. 29, 1969 m I CC the blower and heating means are contained within a housing, a goodly portion of which housing is recessed into the dryer walls so as to lessen the overall lateral dimensions of the dryer and permit the same to be transported from place to place by truck without danger of violating road regulations and without danger of damage occurring by collision with overhead structures such as viaducts and bridges. The dryer is also provide-d with a two-stage effect, in that after the major portion of the moisture has been removed from the grain, the grain is subjected to a mixture of cool as well as heated air to prevent overheating of the grain. Also, the plenum and outer walls of the dryer are constructed of like sections, and the same sections are usable for dryers of various lateral and vertical dimensions with avery slight and economical change in the shape of the sections, whereby stock inventory is materially lessened and economy of production greatly enhanced. In addition, the instant dryer provides a path of flow for the grain that is entirely free of any obstruction, thereby eliminating piling up, stratification, channeling and the like, and insuring that all of the grain moves evenly. Various other salient features and advantages of the instant invention will become apparent from the disclosures hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic view illustrating the general arrangement of the component parts of a dryer embodying principles of the instant invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary enlarged elevational view taken from the right-hand side of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged plan sectional view taken substantially as indicated by the staggered section line III-III of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view, with parts broken away to show parts therebeneath illustrating the overall arrangement of the dryer structure;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary inside elevational view taken substantially as indicated by the line VV in FIGURE 3 showing a structural detail;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective exploded view showing the construction of the inner and outer perforated walls of the dryer;

FIGURE 7 is a part sectional, part elevational view showing a structural detail of the air regulating means seen in the lower left central potrion of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the dryer wall structure, taken substantially as indicated by the line VIII-VIII of FIGURE 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The illustarted embodiment of the instant invention or discovery is in the form of a vertically disposed tank-like structure which may be made in various heights and widths. The tank-like structure includes perforated outer and inner walls, generally indicated by numerals 1 and 2 respectively defining therebetween a downward flow path 3 for the grain being dried. As will later appear, the grain to be dried is fed into the tank-like structure at the top thereof, and accordingly the inner wall is provided with a conical or peaked cover 4 with its apex uppermost to insure an even distribution of incoming grain into the path 3. The outer wall is closed at the top by cover 5 to keep out rain and the like.

As seen best in FIGURE 4, outside the tank structure proper is a vertically extending conveyor housing .6'in which an endless bucket type conveyor 7 is driven by an electric motor 8 in a known manner. This conveyor discharges grain into a transverse chute 9 containing an auger type conveyor 10 driven by a motor 11 which delivers the grain to a central opening 12 in the cover directly over the apex of the cover 4 on the inner wall. Any suitable form of conveyor 13 may be connected to an opening in the bottom of the conveyor housing 6 to feed wet grain from a source of supply into the housing for elevation into the dryer by the conveyor.

As seen best in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, an air supply housing 14 is inset into the walls 1 and 2 of the tank structure. This housing contains a relatively wide hot air fan 1-5 driven by a pair of motors 16 and 17, the air entering through the sides of this housing outside the tank structure. Two motors 16 and 17 are preferably utilized so there is no necessity of rewiring in the event 3-phase electrical energy is not available. One motor may be started to rotate the fan until the initial surge is over, and then the other motor may be started whereupon both motors operate the fan at the desired speed. The fan drives air upwardly through an inside air chute 18 defined by an inner partition 19. Within the air chute, FIGURE 1, is any suitable form of burner 20, preferably a gas burner, over which the air passes to become heated to a desired temperature. Preferably there will be an unobstructed air flow space of three feet in height below the heater and a similar unobstructed air space of approximately three feet above the heater or burner so that no turbulence results. The fan 15, being substantially as wide as the housing 14 creates an even flow of air past the burner, whereupon the air is heated, and then the air rises and bounces back ofl the cover 4 over the inner wall 2 into the plenum space 21 inside the inner wall 2, from whence the air travels laterally through both walls and the grain descending therebetween. Letting the air hit the cover 4 and bounce back into the plenum space affects a more even progressive drying of the descending grain.

After the grain has descended approximately two-thirds of the way down the path 3 between the walls, most of the moisture desired to be removed from the grain has been removed, and thereafter the dryer grain would without further aid more readily pick up temperature from the heated air and possibly become overheated. To overcome this problem, a cold air fan 22, driven by a motor 23, is provided beneath a partition 24 separating the cold air fan from the warm air fan, the cold air fan being substantially half the width of the warm air fan. The cold air fan discharges laterally into the plenum space or cool air lower chamber below a partition 25, and a flow regulator generally indicated by numeral 26 operates through that partition to admit a selected amount of cold air into the plenum space or hot air upper chamber above the partition 25 to blend with the hot air in that region and thus prevent the grain in the lower portion of the path 3 from absorbing too much temperature in the region Where the moisture evaporation rate is slower, and thus becoming overheated.

The regulator 26 includes a tubular member 27 having a perforated wall mounted over an opening in the partition 25. Telescopically associated with the member 27 is an outer tubular member 28 having an imperforate wall and the closed top 29. This tubular member 29 carries on its outer surface a rack bar 30 pivoted at its upper end as indicated at 31 to the outer member 28, and the lower end of which rack bar has a series of notches 32 therein each of a size just exceeding the thickness of the partition 25. As seen best in FIGURE 7, the lower end of the ratchet bar 30 extends through an opening 33 in the partition 25 of just suflicient width to permit the rack bar to move up and down therethrough. A spring 34 secured to the partition 25 with one end bearing against the rack bar urges the rack bar to the position seen in FIGURE 7 with one of the notches engaging the partition to hold the degree of the adjustment between the telescopic member 28 and the perforated member 27. It is a simple expedient to move the rack bar against the pressure of the spring and make any desired adjustment of the height of the member 28 relatively to the member 27 and govern the amount of ambient air admitted into the plenum space above the partition 25 to blend with the hot air already in that space. Access to the regulator is provided by means of a door 35 in the housing 14 at one side of the cold air fan, as seen in FIGURE 2.

As will more fully appear later herein, the perforated walls 1 and 2 are made of sections, and it will be noted from the showing in FIGURE 1 that the inner wall 22 terminates above the outer wall to provide an exit opening 36 for the grain, and the bottom section 37 of the outer wall is imperforate and of heavier gauge metal than the sections thereabove in order to provide an adequately supporting foundation for the dryer. Inside this lower section and approximately centrally disposed is a well 38 into which the grain is delivered by means of a sweep auger driven by a motor 40 and connected to rotating mechanism 41 which moves the grain from the outlet opening 36 into the center well. The grain is delivered from the dryer by means of an auger conveyor 42 leading from the well through the outer casing 1, driven by a motor 43 and which discharges into any suitable elevator or other receiving apparatus for the dry grain. Preferably the various motors utilized in connection with the instant invention are direct current variable speed motors.

The structure of the walls 1 and 2 of the instant dryer is an important feature of this invention. As shown in FIGURES 6 and 8 each of these walls is made up of curvate sections, the sections being all alike for each individual wall. The outer wall 1 consists of a plurality of curvate sections 44 having upper and lower outwardly extending lateral flanges 45 and vertically outwardly extending flanges 46 on the periphery thereof. The body of each section is provided with a mulitude of minute perforations, X perforations staggered on centers being one satisfactory arrangement, as indicated at 47. Each flange is provided with a series of bolt holes 48, bolt holes on 3" centers being one satisfactory arrangement.

The inner wall 2 is made up of a plurality of like panels 49 having vertical end flanges 50 thereon inwardly extending, and upper and lower side flanges 51-51 also inwardly extending. The panels 49 have, of course, a lesser radius of curvature than the outer wall panels 44, but are provided with the same perforations and the same bolt holes in the flanges as above described for the outer sections. For disposition between the sections of each wall at the adjacent ends thereof vertical supporting panels 52 are provided, preferably imperforate except for a series of bolt holes 53 along the outer margin and a similar series of bolt holes 54 along the inner margin. In assembling the walls 1 and 2, it is a simple expedient to bolt or rivet the confronting flanges 46-46 of a pair of adjacent outer sections 44 through the row of bolts holes 53 in a vertical panel 52. Confronting flanges 45 on adjacent vertically disposed sections are also bolted together. Confronting flanges 5050 on adjacent sections 49 of the inner wall are bolted or riveted together through the row of apertures 54 in the vertical panel 52 and the side flanges 51-51 of adjacent vertical sections are likewise bolted together, this arrangement providing vertically disposed ribs on the outside of the outer wall and on the inside of the inner wall as seen in FIGURE 8. Along the bottom one-third of the outer wall it is preferable to include an extra strip 55 for added strength in the lower portion of the tank structure. The horizontal or annular seams will, of course, be of only the thickness of two flanges since there is no panel disposed therebetween, From this arrangement it will be noted that the inner Wall 2 is totally supported by the outer wall through the vertical panels 52.

From the showing in FIGURE 6, it will be noted that the sections for the inner wall are preferably substantially half the height of the sections of the outer wall. This provides added annular seams or ribs for the inner wall to further strengthen the same since the inner wall is subject to compression. The outer wall, on the other hand, is subject to an outward force and does not need the extra strengthening ribs. If desired, one of the flanges 45 and one of the flange 46 on the outer wall may be curved over to cover the edge of the rib formed by the joined flanges on the outer wall as indicated at 56 in FIGURE 8.

The inner and outer wall construction as described above permits the stocking of what may be termed standard wall sections, and should it be desired to vary the size of the dryer it is a simple expedient to take one of the standard sections, place it in a bending machine and vary the radius of curvature and then add one or more sections to increase the cross sectional area of the dryer. Accordingly, it is necessary to maintain a considerably less inventory than would be the case if like sections for the inner and outer walls could not be stocked.

It will be noted that while the vertical panels 52 divide the grain path 3 into separate increments, four such increments being shown in the illustrated embodiment, there is no obstruction whatever to the free and smooth even flow of the grain. The ribs formed by the joined flanges of the adjacent wall sections are inside the plenum space 21 or outside the dryer proper and the passageways for the grain are totally unobstructed. Therefore, stratification, channeling or piling up of the grain cannot occur and the drying of the grain will be uniform.

As seen best in FIGURE 3, it will be noted that the housing 14 for the blower fans and burner is recessed or inset into the structure in such a way as to take the place of a vertical row of wall sections in each of the walls, This recessiug of that housing decreases the lateral or cross dimension of the dryer to such an extent that the same may be completely assembled at a manufacturing plant, and loaded horizontally upon a truck and transported to its ultimate destination whereat the dryer is erected on a foundation previously made. If so desired, the dryer may be transported from one such location to another for community usage. When the dryer is erected at such location it is only necessary to establish the essential electrical connections and position the feeding conveyor 13 so it will properly feed wet grain to the dryer.

To prevent piling up of the grain within the dryer on top of the housing 14, the housing is provided with an inverted V-shaped cover 57 adjacent the cover 4 over the inner wall so that the grain is effectively distributed to each side of the center line of the housing into the adjacent increments of the flow path 3.

Means are also provided to insure a uniform removal of grain from the flow path 3 by the sweep auger 39'. As seen in FIGURE 5, an adjustable tapering baffle 58 is attached to the lower flange 51 of the bottom wall section 49 of the inner wall which is immediately adjacent the housing 14. The end of this baffle is deeper immediately adjacent the housing 14 and gradually decreases in thickness until approximately the next vertical panel 52, as seen in FIGURE 5. Assuming that the sweep auger rotates clockwise, the batfle restricts the outlet of grain from the flow path increment on the auger exit side of the housing 14. Since the sweep auger has just passed beneath the housing 14 in which region no grain is picked up by the auger, the auger has completely cleared itself of grain, and without the bafile 58 restricting flow in the adjacent increment of the flow path, the auger would remove an excess amount of grain from that flow path increment. But with this baflle properly positioned, the auger gradually assumes its full load of grain and the removal of grain from the entire flow path 3 is uniform therearound.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the instant dryer is highly efficient, uniformly and progressively drying grain without the grain becoming overheated and the grain flows smoothly and evenly throughout its path of travel through the dryer. The dryer is of the continuous flow type, the grain being elevated by the bucket conveyor 7 to enter the top of the dryer, and one pass downwardly through the dryer is suflicient for properly drying the grain so that the intake of grain and removal of grain from the dryer is continuous. By virtue of the wall construction of the dryer, a minimum inventory may be maintained. Furthermore, the entire dryer may be completely assembled at the manufacturing plant and transported by truck to its intended site and no assembly work is required at the site.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be efiected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

We claim:

1. A continuous flow grain dryer having a pair of spaced inner and outer perforated walls defining a path for the flow of grain therebetween with partition means dividing the space inside the inner wall into a hot air upper chamber and a cool air lower chamber, and means to supply heated air to the interior of the inner wall, wherein the improvement comprises means to supply cool air to the downstream portion of the grain path to prevent overheating of the grain, and

regulator means extending through said partition means and being manually adjustable to govern the amount of cool air mixed with the warm air inside the lower portion of said hot air chamber.

2. The structure of claim 1, including means connecting said outer and inner walls in a manner that said inner wall is supported and maintained in place by said outer wall.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said regulator means include a pair of tubular members telescopically associated, one of said members having a perforated wall, and the other of said members having an imperforate wall and a closed end.

4. The structure of claim 3 including latch means to retain said tubular members in a desired position of relative adjustment.

5. A continuous flow grain dryer having a pair of spaced inner and outer perforated walls defining a path for the flow of grain therebetween, wherein the improvement comprises a vertical housing having an open top set into and through both said walls to communicate with the inside of said inner wall, and

air heating and blowing means in said housing, whereby the lateral dimension is reduced so that said dryer is transportable by truck.

6. The structure of claim 5 wherein the grain enters at the top of the dryer, and including an inverted V-shape baifie over said housing to prevent grain piling up over said housing.

7. The structure of claim 8 in which the sections forming said inner wall are each of materially less height than those forming the outer wall.

8. The structure of claim 6 wherein said inner and outer walls are each comprised of like arcuate sections having respectively inner and outer peripheral flanges through which said sections are connected together, and

vertical panels secured to the confronting flanges of adjacent section ends to wholly support said inner wall from said outer wall.

9. The structure of claim 8 wherein said panels divide the grain flow path into a plurality of inwardly smooth path divisions, said housing occupying the space of one such division.

10. The structure of claim 9, including a center well at the bottom of the dryer,

a sweep auger positioned to convey grain from said flow path to said center well, and

a bafile depending from said inner wall adjacent said housing and gradually decreasing in depth in the 7 8 direction of body movement of said sweep auger. in approximately the lower one-third of the outer 11. A continuous flow grain dryer having a pair of wall. spaced inner and outer perforated walls defining a path References Cited for the flow of grain therebetween and means to supply UNITED STATES PATENTS heated air to the interior of the inner Wall, wherein the improvement comprises 5 1,265,966 5/ 1913 sq lafly 52-245 said walls each being formed of like curvate sections 3,092,472 6/1963 Flgley 34-167 XR flanged for securement to each other, and g l s n t 1 t d I th (1 t I y or ver lcal pane S ex en mg across Smd pa an Se 3,333,348 8/1967 Ausherman et a1. 34174 cured between adjacent1 section ends of botlh wallls, 10 whereby the size of t e dryer may be se ective y changed by altering the radius of curvature of said CARLTON CROYLE Pr'mary panels and utilizing more or less of the same to ALAN D. HERRMANN, Assistant Examiner. form each Wall.

12. The structure of claim 11 wherein 15 said dryer is vertical, and including extra reinforcing strips secured to the flanges of the outer wall sections US. Cl. X.R. 

